Til My Last Day
by countrygirl794
Summary: Draco has not been in the Wizarding world for 5 years and he comes back a changed man. He meets Hermione Granger as soon as he's back. Why though? Because she had been his mother's Healer while she was alive. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Draco Comes Back

I do not own Harry Potter…only the plot.

_(A/N: I was inspired to write this when I heard the song _Til My Last Day by Justin Moore_…I thought it was a good story line for a Dramione…you'll see why! Hope you enjoy..)_

**Chapter 1: Draco Comes Back**

He couldn't believe that it had been five years since he had had anything to do with the Wizarding World. He had wanted to stay separated for as long as possible. He couldn't face his fear yet.

The fear he had was actually childish to an extent. His fear was losing everyone he was close to and the only person he was close to was his mother. That was the only person. And he had just lost her. She had been in St. Mungo's ever since his father had been sent to Azkaban and given the Kiss after the War. Yes, Draco Malfoy had been scared of losing his mother ever since he was a little kid and it had finally happened. At the age of 23, Draco had lost everything he held close.

That's when he dropped his head into his hands and cried just like he had when his dog died when he was 7. Draco had never cried since that time; he never even cried when his father was sent off. No, this was the first time he had cried in 16 years.

She sat there and wept. She couldn't believe the woman who had been her rock for so long was dead. She had leant on Narcissa Malfoy ever since her parents died and Narcissa had been sent to St. Mungo's. Cissy, as Hermione liked to call her, had always given her advice when it was needed even though Cissy's mental health was steadily declining. Hermione knew it wouldn't be long until Cissy would pass but it would get any easier. Hermione believed she should have had more than five years with her Cissy.

She stopped wallowing in self-pity when she felt arms wrap around her and looked up into her best friend's eyes. "Why did it have to happen so soon, Ginny?" Hermione said, "Why?! Five years just isn't enough. I feel as if I've just lost my mother for a second time!" And with that, continued to weep into her arms.

Ginny looked at the older woman who was breaking into pieces in front of her. She hadn't saw Hermione with her guard down like this in a long time.

When the train came to a stop at King's Cross Station, Draco wiped his face and stood and grabbed his carry-on luggage and went to wait for the rest of his luggage. As he looked around the platform he had just got off, he realized exactly where he was. He was right next to platform 9 ¾ .

He stared at the brick wall for the longest time until the bagman gave him his bags and walked away. He looked at the clock next to the platform and realized it was September 1st at 10:00 a.m. Very soon there would be witches and wizards galore; so, if he didn't want to be in the mist of them he had better leave quickly.

As he picked his way through the crowd, he saw the luggage carts with owl cages or cat carriers on them. He made himself scarce at that moment. He made way to a dark corner and made sure he had all his bags and for the first time in five years, took out his wand and Apparated to Malfoy Manor.

Once inside, he looked around and couldn't believe how kept up the place was which only meant one thing, there was still house elves here.

After a couple of hours of crying, she finally pulled herself together. She stood from Ginny's grasp and told her, "I have to go to the Manor. I'm sure the elves already know but I need to feel like I'm close to Cissy somehow and she made sure that the wards were down for me to enter." Ginny just silently nodded and watched her best friend Disapparate away.

When she got to the Manor, she had to take a deep steadying breath and grabbed the necklace Cissy had given her just two weeks after being at St. Mungo's. She began her way upstairs to Cissy's private study when she heard talking coming from down the hall. She pulled out her want and slowly made her way down the hall.

As she came closer, she recognized one of the voices as the head elf's voice, Daisy, but the other voice made her think. It was the voice of a man; a man whose voice sounds like it was filled with sorrow; a man whose voice sounded as if his heart had just been shattered by losing his mother; a man whose voice had taunted Hermione all throughout her school years at Hogwarts and called her 'Mudblood'; a man whose voice belonged to the one and only Draco Malfoy.

Hermione slowly made her way back to the large living room and sunk down onto the couch. She couldn't face Draco yet. Besides, no one had probably bothered to tell him that the Healer that had looked after his mother was the girl he had hated all through Hogwarts. And knowing Draco, he wouldn't like that idea.

Draco talked to Daisy about the funeral arrangements that had already been set; by whom he did not know and Daisy wasn't telling.

After he finished talking with Daisy, he excused her and went upstairs to his old bedroom. He opened the door and looked around at all that was familiar to him. He saw the pictures of his father and mother. He grabbed the closest picture of his mother and looked down at the smiling and waving picture of Narcissa Malfoy. He sat down on his bed and wondered what his mother was like in the last days of her life. He hated that he hadn't been there but after the War he just had to separate himself from the Wizarding world. He couldn't handle being looked down upon by everyone because of how he was raised. So, he had left.

He had went to northern England into a Muggle-only community where no one would recognize him and it was where he had spent the last five years. Hell, he was so distanced that he didn't even know who had took care of his mother. As he thought of this, there was a knock on the door and as he rose to answer it, he never would have thought to see this woman again, especially in his house on the day he had just lost his mother. But here she was, Hermione Granger was standing outside his bedroom door. That was the last thing he remembered before blacking out.


	2. Really!

I do not own Harry Potter…only the plot.

**Chapter 2: Really?!**

She rolled her eyes when he passed out after seeing her. She thought about leaving him there but she was a Healer so she couldn't. She levitated him onto his bed and called for Daisy.

"Yes, Miss? Miss called for Daisy." The little elf squeaked.

Hermione smiled down at her. "Yes. Malfoy here just fainted and I need a wet rag to lie across his forehead before I revive him." She watched as the little elf disappeared with a snap and appeared just a minute later; with rag in hand.

"Here you go, Miss. Let Daisy know if you need anything else, Miss." The elf said before disappearing yet again.

Hermione looked down at Draco. She couldn't believe she was seeing him for the first time in five years. She wondered if he was the annoying prat he had been in school. She also wondered where he had been. It had been like he had vanished from the face of the Earth after the War. To most, including her, it was a relief. They hadn't had to deal with him anymore. But for others, his mother the main one, worried constantly about where the young man had gone off to.

She quit contemplating these things and placed the rag upon his forehead and wiped it across his face. It visibly relaxed as she did so. She smiled to herself at this. Then, she grabbed her wand and revived him.

He sat up gasping; not recognizing where he was at. Hermione had jumped back in shock. In all her years of Healing, no one had come back like that. But she quickly came back to him and put her hands on either shoulder and pushed him back down onto the bed.

"Malfoy, you have to stay down. Do not sit up so fast. You're fine. You're in the Manor. Don't freak out anymore. You're safe." Hermione said while trying to smooth his hair down.

That's when it looked to her that he realized who was talking to him because his eyes went from the state of worry to one of disbelief.

"Granger." He drawled. "What are you doing here in the Manor?"

She looked down at him and wondered if she should tell him at the moment what he probably least expected. But she figured he better know now instead of later on down the road.

"Malfoy, I'm here because I have to take care of your mother's business." She said in a matter of fact voice.

He looked at her as if she was crazy. "What do you mean 'to take care of my mother's business'? The house elves were doing that until I returned."

"I mean…" She said while getting the necklace from out of her shirt and showing it to Draco. "She gave me orders that if something were to ever happen to her I should be the one to plan everything and gave me this necklace to show that I would take over control of the Malfoy Empire when she does die because she didn't know where her only child was!" She practically shouted but then calmed herself. "I'm sorry, Malfoy. I shouldn't have shouted. It's just…there's a lot of stress on me."

He looked at her with his mouth wide open not knowing exactly how to respond. His mother had given her control of the Malfoy Empire because she didn't know where he had gone. "Granger, why would she do that? I mean I know it's because she didn't know where I was but why you? Why not Parkinson? Or one of the Greengrass girls?"

Hermione looked around the room; anywhere but at the man lying on the bed. "Because I was her Healer and she knew she could trust me." She whispered. "I had only been her Healer for two weeks before she gave me this necklace to signify that I had control…I don't know why she trusted me so much but she did. She became like a mother to me and I a daughter figure to her."

That's when she dared to look into his eyes. She saw the sadness that came with losing a parent in his eyes. She saw the look that people had given her all the time when she had lost both of her parents.

(A/N: SORRY it is so SHORT! I'll be sure to make the next one longer (: I'm in a bit of a rush at the moment.)


	3. Talking to Narcissa

I do not own Harry Potter…only the plot.

**Chapter 3**

She walked out of the room when he gave her that look. She was sick of it. Plus, she didn't need Draco pitying her. Hermione made her way to Narcissa's study. She needed to be there to clear to her mind. There was so much stress on her that she was about ready to just give up on everything.

She took a deep breath. She couldn't do that. She was the responsible one. She had to keep up appearances. She just had to keep telling herself that; she thought to herself as she stepped into the study.

As she looked around, she saw the whole family painting of Luscious, Narcissa, and Draco hanging about the fireplace. Narcissa was smiling down at her while the two men glared. Hermione failed miserably to smile back but she couldn't with them glaring. Narcissa spoke.

"Hermione, dear, forgive these two imbeciles. They need to give up on prejudices. Now, how are you holding up?" The motherly figure said to her.

Luscious spoke before Hermione could say anything. "Narcissa. Do not speak to that filth. She has no right speaking to you or even being in this house!"

By the end of it, the painted Narcissa was glaring daggers at the painted Luscious. He looked over and was smacked upside the head. The painted Draco snickered but shut up when he saw his mother glare down at him.

Hermione then smiled at the painting as Luscious and Draco walked away to go to a different painting. She then sat down behind the desk as Narcissa began to talk again.

"Hermione, how are you doing? And my apologies for my ignorant husband and son." She said.

"It is quite alright, Cissy. And I'm okay but then again its tearing me up on the inside with you gone. I really don't like that you're gone. I miss the conversations we would have. We could talk for hours and not have to worry about anything." Hermione sniffed and tried hard not to cry but she ended up choking out the last bit. "I just miss you, Cissy. And Draco is back. He was here at the house before I was. Someone must've sent an owl to him telling him that you had passed."

She looked up and saw the shocked face of Narcissa. Even thought she was a painting, it looked like there were tears in her eyes.

"My son is back?" She asked weakly. Before Hermione could answer, the door to the study opened and Draco walked in.

"Yes, Mother, I'm back." He said sadly. "I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye. I just couldn't handle it. I had to get away from all of the stares people kept giving me and how everyone always said, 'oh there goes the Malfoy kid'. Or, and you aren't going to believe this, but a mother pointed at me and said to her young daughter, 'you have to stay away from that man and anyone who is associated with him'. That is why I left. I packed up what I needed and left. Never looked back." He finished.

Hermione looked at him in shock. He had been looking at his mother's portrait. However, as he finished, he turned to look at Hermione. She still didn't know how to respond. Finally, the silence was broken by the painting of Narcissa.

"It's quite alright, dear. Please don't apologize for leaving without saying goodbye. I knew you still loved me. The only thing I wish is that I had saw my baby boy just one more time. Now, Draco, let me ask you a question…where exactly did you go?" She asked.

"I left the Wizarding world behind. I went to an all-Muggle town and didn't use magic. I didn't send nor receive any owls; that is until I got the owl telling me about your passing." He paused for a moment to clear the catch in his throat. "I also never used there. I only used my wand this morning to Apparate to the Manor for the first time in five years."

He looked at his mother's face, who was smiling down at him. Then, he looked over at Hermione. She looked like she was about to kill over from the shock of him saying all this.

"You were living as a Muggle?" She asked. He nodded. She then smiled like the Chesmire cat. He looked worried at that. "I never thought I would see the day a Malfoy would live life as a Muggle!" She shouted but then said, "No offense, Narcissa, Malfoy. But after growing up with you…" She pointed at Draco. "I never thought I'd see it."

Narcissa chuckled at her little outburst. Draco, on the other hand, looked highly offended. Hermione came around the desk toward Draco and playfully punched him in the shoulder. He flinched away. "Come now, Draco. I'm not going to hurt you." Hermione smiled at him. He tried to smile back at her. "Narcissa, if you'll excuse us, it is nearing lunch. We will be back later on."

Narcissa just smiled and nodded; letting them know that it was fine. Hermione smiled back and grabbed Draco's hand. He seemed shocked that she had his hand. She pulled them through the door and let go. She started down the hall toward the kitchen. But when she looked back, Draco wasn't behind her. He was standing a few feet away from the study. As she turned to go back toward him to get him to eat, he slowly leaned against the wall and sank down to the floor. She watched as he buried his face in his hands and started to weep.

She slowly made her way back to him. She stood above him for just a minute. She heard him say he couldn't believe he hadn't told his mother bye. She sat down beside him and pulled him into an embrace and then laid his head in her lap. She softly stroked his hair until he quit weeping and his breathing slowed. She looked down and he was asleep. But she kept stroking his hair.

(A/N: PLEASE REVIEW! And feel free to check out my other stories!)


	4. Hermione's Story

I do not own Harry Potter…only the plot.

**Chapter 4: Hermione's Story**

She couldn't believe she had Draco Malfoy's head in her lap. If this was real life, then something was wrong. Oh, wait, the thing that is wrong is that Draco's mother had just died. She sighed and looked up.

"Narcissa, your boy misses you so much. I hope you're looking down on him and please ease his pain." Hermione whispered. "And please ease mine. You were like a mother figure to me."

Her legs were starting to ache. She knew if she moved her legs out though it would probably wake him. And by the looks of the bags under his eyes, she knew he hadn't been sleeping much. She didn't want to wake him. Hermione kept combing her hand through his hair. Soon, it had become like breathing to her, just natural, and she found herself slowly drifting off.

-2 hours later-

Draco woke up with a crick in his neck. He slowly opened his eyes and saw he was laying on the floor. However, he also saw he had his head in someone's lap. He could also feel a hand in his hair. He slowly moved away and he watched as the hand dropped into the person's lap.

He looked up and saw Hermione with her head against the wall fast asleep. He watched as her chest rose and fell as she slept. Draco noticed how her hair was now long and silky instead of the busy mess he remembered. He didn't know whether to wake her up or leave her there. His stomach was growling. He hadn't had anything to eat since the night before. He slowly stood up so he wouldn't wake Hermione. He then made his way to the kitchen.

Daisy met him when he entered. "Master Draco! What are you doing up out of bed? Miss Hermione told Daisy Master needs to rest." The little elf squeaked.

Draco smiled down at the little creature. "Its alright, Daisy. I'm hungry so I came down for a bite and to take something up for Hermione. She's asleep in the hallway. We both ended up sleeping there for a couple hours. Don't ask me why." He chuckled.

Daisy smiled at him and went off to get both of them something to eat. He sat down at the table and watched Daisy make their food. However, he didn't see any other elves in the kitchen like usual.

"Daisy, where are the other elves at?" He asked.

Daisy stopped and looked at him. "Master Draco. The other elves are cleaning the house. It is only Daisy in here now. Miss Hermione sat all us elves down and set each of us free. There are only five of us that chose to stay. Me here in the kitchen. And then one elf for each of the wings. Us five accepted to be paid and given holidays. Daisy finished.

Draco slowly nodded his head as Daisy returned to finishing the meals.

-Meanwhile with Hermione-

She slowly woke up. The crick in her neck absolutely killing her. She got up and then realized something. Draco was not there with her.

She slid back down against the wall and laid her head back. She thought about what had happened earlier. She had seen the weak side of Draco Malfoy. The side of him that very few people ever saw of him. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Hermione? Are you up yet?" She heard a voice say.

She opened her eyes and looked down the hall. She saw Draco standing with a tray of food at the end of the hallway. She got up again and started down the hall.

"How about we take lunch in the sun room here?" She asked when she paused at a door.

He nodded and she opened the door and walked in. Draco following close behind.

Hermione sat herself down at the table closest to the window. Even though it was a bleak and gray day, the grounds still looked amazing. Besides the library, this was her most favorite place in the house. It showed everything that the Malfoys owned in the back.

"You know when I woke up this morning ad saw it was a dull day…I thought, something is going to happen that I'm not going to like. Turns out my gut instinct was right…"

Hermione cut him off. "Draco, if you are ever going to get over this, you need to stop beating yourself up and dwelling on her death. Come. Sit down. Let me tell you about what I've been doing since we last saw each other," She gulped. "which was the Final Battle."

He sat down across from her. "It really has been that long, hasn't it?"

She nodded. "Yes it has been. After the Final Battle, I went to St. Mungo's and applied for a position. They accepted me. My training lasted throughout the trials. I was finished at the end of them and that is when I got my first patient, your mother. She wasn't that bad off then. She was coming to terms about never seeing you again. That is why I am the owner of the Malfoy Empire. She gave me charge over it. She also gave me this necklace. She told me how it was a family heirloom; passed down through generations. She also said it usually goes to the newest Malfoy daughter-in-law. However, she charmed the necklace so it wouldn't harm me since I'm not married to a Malfoy. Now, if I wanted to, if you had ever came back and married, I could undo the charm and so you can give it to your bride."

Draco was shaking his head back and forth. "No, Mother gave you that necklace and the necklace stating you have control over the Malfoy Empire. That is what Mother wanted and it will stay that way." Hermione smiled and patted his hand from across the table.

(A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!)


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